Developmental Edit or Substantive Edit? Is There a Difference?

As a book editor, I’m sometimes asked what the difference is between a developmental edit and a substantive edit. Authors typically use the first term to mean something different than what it originally meant to editors. In so doing, they’ve created a new (popular) meaning for the term. This leads to all sorts of confusion, which hopefully this article will ... Read More

How to Write an Author Bio Page for Your Book

You’re writing the author bio page for your book, and are unsure what should go there and what shouldn't. There’s a right way and wrong way to do this, so let’s take a look. Keep it brief – Your book's author bio page should be short—just two or three brief paragraphs. Make it factual – Give us specific facts about your ... Read More

Branding Your Book Title and Book Cover

Branding is as important for a book as it is for a business. It starts with branding your book title and book cover. A book title needs to convey the genre and indicate the nature of the content, but it needs to do so much more …

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Craft a Book Title that’s Irresistible

It’s important to craft a book title that’s irresistible. Why is this so important? Because your book title, along with your book cover, are the first things a reader or buyer is going to see …

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How to Write Emotional Scenes that Aren’t Sappy

Probably one of the greatest challenges for a fiction writer is writing emotional scenes that are genuine, believable, and moving—while steering clear of the sand traps of sappy, phony, and overdone. Why is it so hard to write an emotional scene that works? I think it’s because the human heart is subtle, so the writing must be incredibly subtle to ... Read More